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One-off insights: what’s really effective – impact study on a cross-media fundraising campaign
Caritas Switzerland
Identified: the most efficient channels for fundraising. For nearly 125 years, Caritas Switzerland’s mission has been to prevent, tackle and relieve poverty. The cross-media Christmas campaign “A world without poverty” in 2023 aimed to raise funds for this commitment and to boost the profile of this non-profit organization’s (NPO) work abroad. But which advertising medium made the biggest contribution to its success: direct mailing, out-of-home advertising, display, e-mail or print? And how well did the cross-media interaction of these channels work? The impact study provides detailed insights through marketing mix modelling.
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Objectives, issues and methodology
Goal of the analysis
Marketing mix modelling aims to draw conclusive insights into the effectiveness and efficiency of marketing strategies. The study shows how Caritas Switzerland’s advertising expenditure can be optimized to have the maximum impact.
Main issues
- How well does the cross-media mix work and which channels are the best for raising funds during the campaign?
- Can better results be achieved with a regional focus or increasing the advertising focus in the Bern region?
Data collection and methodology
Data was collected from various sources for this analysis. By using statistical methods and machine learning, complex patterns could be identified in the data. It revealed correlations between advertising expenditure and donations received that now allow targeted optimization to be made.
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The findings of marketing mix modelling help us to deploy the media budget more efficiently for the next campaign and to address the relevant target groups more accurately. They confirmed the strong impact of direct mailing, which came as no surprise to us.
Christoph Keiser, Co-Head of the Fundraising Department & Marketing, Caritas Switzerland
Key findings
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A cross-media approach generates efficiency
Funds were raised more efficiently in 2023 than the year before, which confirms the channels interact better.
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A skilfully expanded media mix
The 24 percent higher return on advertising spend compared with the previous year is primarily down to the skilfully expanded media mix (increased cross-media usage).
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Three top performers
According to the efficiency analysis, direct mail advertising is the top performer, followed by digital out-of-home and display, with these three channels reinforcing each other.
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In-depth models such as this one are rarely published because they contain a lot of confidential data. It’s striking that Caritas Switzerland nonetheless consciously provides insights into its results. The study categorically shows that the impact of advertising increases disproportionately if targeted investments are made in the most effective channels.
Daniel Schönmann, Head of Advertising Research & Communication, Post Advertising
Recommendations for action
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Harness channel synergies
The targeted realignment of the media mix to the three top performers increases the overall effectiveness of cross-media campaigns.
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Regional optimization
Data & analytics can be used to identify significant regions and to increase the advertising impact there.
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Gradual adjustments
When it comes to the campaign setting and media mix, optimizations should be implemented gradually in order to continually verify the impact.
Campaign and study
